Plywood: Not just for Robots Anymore

erco · 2011-05-31 09:30

A 100% wooden bicycle, Matt G!

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/28/136742757/wooden-bike-settles-a-bet-complete-with-splinters

Sure, people call carbon fiber bikes "plastic bikes", but we all know better. I guess the old blow-molded "Big Wheel" bike was as close to an all-plastic bike as they got, but this baby is 100% wood.

As Newman said on Seinfeld (of roasted chicken), "It's the wood that makes it good."

Heater. · 2011-05-31 09:35

I thought I saw "ZiCog" in that picture. No, it was "pliCog":)

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) · 2011-05-31 09:43

'Looks like a gussied-up version of an old idea:

Of course, those lack a propulsion system, other than gravity or pushing off with a foot on the ground.

-Phil

erco · 2011-05-31 09:46

I'm guessing that's NOT a gas pedal in the top pic!

Ken Gracey · 2011-05-31 09:59

In my private life I'm still a holdout for plywood robots, but in the corporate world I'm all about HPDE being the only solution worth discussing. In my personal life the tools at home are very different from what we have here at Parallax, making plywood the material of choice for hobby.

Matt's fascination for HDPE and acrylic is as if he has boarded a spacecraft headed to another planet where there is no plywood, nor does the concept of it even exist. Ahh, wait a minute. I think I know where the total disregard for plywood comes from - he is also a licensed CONtractor. He has CONned and CONsulted us into thinking HDPE is the only material that exists. Perhaps he's also worked with enough wood products in the past to now dislike them, preferring the precision machining ability we can impart upon these plastic slabs.

I think I'm seeing the whole picture now. It just takes a while. He can't weigh in on this thread today anyway so it's my turn to stick him a bit while he sets up the selective solder machine.

Ken Gracey

HollyMinkowski · 2011-05-31 10:11

Plywood, and plain old regular wood seems like a good material
for home made robotic stuff. If you made a huge robotic arm out of
wood and then spray painted it with that gray primer paint it would
look like it was made of some kind of metal anyway.

Matt Gilliland · 2011-05-31 20:09

Ken Gracey wrote: »

(Matt G.) can't weigh in on this thread today anyway so it's my turn to stick him a bit while he sets up the selective solder machine.

Ken Gracey

Ahhhhhhhh...HAH!

Found the post I did, you Scoundrel!

Sure, I get it now...Wicked Stepmother Ken sends me off to do his dirty-work (installing a beautiful new KISS 102), all the while roasting me on this Forum.

What was it? What was that you said Ken? Oh, yeah. You said "you'll never find this post - ha...ha...ha" (you nefarious buck-a-roo!).

hummm. Well the jig is up!

1) HDPE is my alter-ego.
2) Yes, I did use a lot of plywood during my custom home building projects
3) Yes, you can get splinters from plywood (look at my hands sometime)
4) HDPE does not produce splinters nor pain.
and
5) I'm tired of Plywood splinters...

There, it's out there for all the world to see...Yes, my name is Matt ("Everybody say, "Hiiii Matt"), and I am a recovering CONtractor.

-Matt